Make Room for Improvements in 2022
The beginning of a new year is a great time to focus on how we can make this year better than the last. As food safety partners, we must continue our efforts in preventing foodborne illness by working together to promote safe food handling practices.
Let's start by making some resolutions that will have a direct impact on food safety in your establishment.
- Increase Food Safety Training
- Monitor Employee Health & Hygiene
- Maintain & Monitor Refrigeration Units
- Speed Up Cooling Processes
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Increase Food Safety Training
The NC Food Code requires at least one certified food protection manager (CFPM) on duty during all food service operating hours. The CFPM responsibilities include ongoing food safety training and monitoring of food employees.
Due to staffing shortages and in-person training restrictions, many food establishments have not been able to provide effective training and management oversight to kitchen employees. This has led to an increase in unsafe food handling in these establishments.
The good news is there are now six accredited programs that offer online food manager certification training. Each site provides the option to take the exam online or at a designated testing site. This will make it easier for food service operators to certify more employees in a shorter amount of time.
Click on the following links to access each site’s food manager certification program:
360 Training Learn 2 Serve
State Food Safety
National Registry of Food Safety Professionals
National Restaurant Association
Prometric, Inc.
The Always Safe Food Company
“The NC Food Code requires at least one certified food protection manager on duty during all food service operating hours.”
Monitor Employee Health & Hygienc
Poor personal hygiene and employee health remain important areas that need priority attention. Infections, such as Norovirus, that are transmitted through food could be drastically reduced if three control measures are followed:
- Not working when ill
- No bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food
- Proper handwashing
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It is best practice to have each employee complete a Food Employee Reporting Agreement form and keep a copy in the establishment.
Food Employee Reporting Agreement
Spanish Food Employee Reporting Agreement
Handwashing and glove use must be regularly monitored by management. Employees must wash hands before beginning work, in between different tasks, before putting on gloves, and any time when hands become soiled or contaminated. Disposable gloves must be removed and hands washed in between different tasks.
Access handwashing signs and procedures:
Handwashing Signage in English & Spanish
Handwashing Procedures Sign
Glove-Use Tips
The purpose of wearing gloves is to protect the food, not your hands.
- Remove gloves when you step away from food prep areas and between different tasks.
- Wash your hands before putting on a new pair.
- Only use gloves to prevent bare hand contact with cooked foods and foods that do not require cooking before serving.
Maintain & Monitor Refrigeration Units
In 2019, the cold holding temperature requirement for refrigerated foods was changed from 45°F to 41°F. Since then, many establishments have struggled to meet this requirement. What can you do to maintain 41°F?
- Keep the air temperature inside the cooler colder than 41°F
- Check internal temperatures of food stored in coolers overnight to verify 41°F.
- Check coolant levels and regularly clean the cooler coils.
- Replace torn gaskets, adjust door hinges, and keep doors closed when not in use.
- Make sure compressor fans are not blocked and coolers are pulled away from walls to allow for adequate internal and external air flow.
- Do not overfill food containers in prep top coolers or on cold buffet bars.
- Keep a comfortable ambient air temperature in the kitchen to help coolers recover during busy periods of opening/closing doors.
- Check internal food temperatures throughout the day with a calibrated food thermometer.
- Do not use frequently-opened coolers or prep top coolers to cool down foods.
Access the Cold Hold Assessment Checklist to evaluate refrigeration in your establishment.
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Cold Hold Tip:
To maintain internal food temperatures at 41°F or below, the recommended circulated air temperature for most refrigeration units is between 35-37°F.
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Speed Up Cooling Process
One of the most common food safety violations observed during an inspection is improper cooling. Different cooling parameters must be used depending on whether you are cooling hot foods or are cooling recently prepared foods.
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- Hot foods must be cooled to 70°F within two hours and from 70°F to 41°F within four hours (six hours total).
- Foods removed from temperature control during preparation periods or made from room temperature ingredients must be cooled to 41°F within four hours after preparation.
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Cool food fast by doing the following:
- Divide large containers of food into shallow metal pans, such as sheet pans
- Use an ice bath with frequent stirring to remove heat
- Use a chill stick in the center of the food and frequently stir
- Add ice as an ingredient
- Designate rapid cooling equipment (walk-in cooler/walk-in freezer/ long-term storage coolers) for cooling
- Use speed racks to cool foods in walk-in coolers/walk-in freezers
- Place cooling foods away from cooler doors
- Cool foods to 41°F in rapid cooling equipment before placing into make unit refrigerators
- Leave cooling foods loosely covered or uncovered until food is 41°F
- Store ingredients (mayo, tomatoes, tuna cans) in cooler until ready to use
Do not:
- leave large containers of food on the counter to cool at room temperature
- tightly cover foods in the cooling process
- move recently prepared foods directly into prep top coolers/frequently-opened coolers
- overfill containers in make unit refrigeration units
- use deep plastic containers to cool foods
Access a cooling procedure handout to use in your establishment.
Cooling Tip for Chopped Lettuce:
Lettuce is required to be washed before chopping. Unfortunately, the temperature of cold water out of the tap is usually > 41°F.
To quickly cool lettuce in a matter of minutes:
- Fill a clean and sanitized prep sink with ice water.
- Thoroughly wash the lettuce in the ice water.
- Drain all water and ice.
- Verify lettuce is 41°F before placing into storage containers.
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